Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Lucky Irabor
NDA attack: Retired, serving military officers working for Boko Haram, claims ex-DSS Director
Barely a week after a Military Intelligence expert, Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi (retired), had accused the Federal Government of shielding known sponsors of terrorism who are financially backing Boko Haram insurgents, another security top brass in the country, Mr. Mike Ejiofor has followed up with claims that both retired and serving military personnel are working with the insurgents.
Earlier last Wednesday, Olawunmi, a Professor of Global Security Studies who was a member of the Intelligence Brief at the Defence Headquarters during the leadership of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin (retd) had while as guest on the Channels TV morning programme, ‘Sunrise Daily, lamented that efforts to prosecute known and identified sponsors of terrorism in the north have been blocked by serving members of the Buhari administration.
However, following up on the claims of Olawunmi, Saturday, another top security chief, a former Director of Department of State Security (DSS), Mr. Ejiofor declared that it was obvious that both retired and serving military personnel are working with the Boko Haram to destroy the country.
Speaking also on the Channels TV morning programme, Saturday, Ejiofor said with the level of destruction and audacious attacks on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and for bringing down an Air Force jet, ‘it’s obvious that some retired and serving military personnel are aiding them.’
Ejiofor said apart from the foreign training some of the terrorists might have received, bringing down an aircraft and invasion of NDA without any arrest or trace almost a week after is an indication that they have collaborators in the military.
He, however, urged that more is required in intelligence gathering to fish out the perpetrators of these dastardly acts.
“We know that some of the terrorists received training, but bringing down an aircraft and invading the NDA without being caught speaks volumes. Bringing down an aircraft requires the launch of a SCUD missile. These can only be achieved through those who have received military training and expert at such. It’s crystal clear that some serving and retired military personnel are working for the insurgents. We need to do more in the area of intelligence gathering to arrest the perpetrators,“ Ejiofor said.
It would be recalled that Navy Commodore Olawunmi, had in his interview, alleged that some serving members of the Buhari administration were shielding Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists from prosecution.
Olawunmi further disclosed that he was member of a Committee that ‘interrogated a senior member of this government on Boko Haram related issues.’
“In April this year, the government said they had arrested 400 Bureau De Change (BDCs)-related people that were sponsoring Boko Haram. They told us.
“Try them, we know them. Why can’t this government, if not that they are partisan, why can they bring those people out for trial?” Olawunmi asked.
Referencing his time as a member of the military intelligence team in 2017, Olawunmi noted that there are some things he cannot disclose to the public.
“I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of people that are presently in government that the boys we arrested mentioned. Some of them are governors now. Some of them are in the Senate. Some of them are in Aso Rock,” Olawunmi had said.
According to Olawunmi, some of the sponsors are presently state governors and senators in the Buhari administration, who were identified and profiled, but are yet to be prosecuted.
